Labor Meets in L.A. to Tout Residency Bill

Hoping to build momentum for a new general amnesty, labor leaders gathered in Los Angeles on Friday to tout a longshot congressional bill that would eventually grant legal residency to the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants now in the United States.

Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who wrote HR 500, chose to kick off the national campaign for the bill in Los Angeles because it is “the backbone of social activism” in the United States, and the primary magnet for undocumented workers. He spent the day meeting with community, religious and immigrant rights activists and planning a national strategy.

“They’re with us. We benefit from their work, their talent. It’s time to treat them with dignity,” said Gutierrez, a firebrand activist from Chicago.

HR 500, which has 27 co-sponsors, would immediately grant legal status to immigrants in the country for at least five years. The date would then roll forward a year in each of the next five years, eventually encompassing all of those now present.

The measure is the most sweeping of several in Congress that address the nation’s dependence on illegal immigrant labor. Another, promoted by agricultural interests, would offer temporary work permits to immigrants who agree to return to their country each year, but who would eventually become eligible for permanent residency.

Gutierrez acknowledged his bill is a longshot in a Republican-dominated House, especially with a Republican administration. But he said Republican President Ronald Reagan signed the last general amnesty law in 1986, which led to the eventual legalization of more than 3 million immigrants.

Gutierrez appeared with representatives of more than a dozen community and immigrant groups at a news conference at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

Amnesty is a priority for the Service Employees International Union--among the largest in the AFL-CIO. The union, which represents janitors and other service workers who are primarily immigrants, successfully lobbied that labor umbrella group to reverse its long-standing policy on immigrants last year.

Last year, an SEIU-led coalition filled the Los Angeles Sports Arena with 20,000 cheering amnesty supporters. SEIU Vice President Eliseo Medina said the union plans to book Dodger Stadium--with its more than 50,000 seats--in October.